Pilot
Pilot Episode Number: Season 1, Episode 1 Directed By: Mark Mylod Air Date: October 23, 2011 Previous Episode: N/A Next Episode The Thing You Love Most "Pilot" is the series premiere of the American fairytale/drama television series Once Upon a Time. It introduces each of the main characters, as well as establishes the basic premises of the series, which details the beginnings of a curse placed upon the Enchanted Forest and the start of a destiny for its only savior, a present-day woman who can break the curse. The episode was co-written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Hororwitz, and was directed by Mark Mylod. Kitsis and Horowitz sought to write new perspectives of familiar characters, and featured the themes of hope, family, and motherhood. "Pilot" sets the template for the rest of the series, as it jumps between their cursed selves in Storybrooke, Maine and their original lives in the Enchanted Forest. Every actor first approached for the series accepted after being sent a script; this included Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White and Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan. Before it made its debut, ABC allowed viewers in the United States to see the pilot on the Internet Movie Database's website several days before it aired. It premiered in the United States on ABC on October 23, 2011. In Canada, CTV broadcast the series an hour ahead of ABC's debut, airing it at 7 pm in most regions. The episode received mostly positive reviews and was watched by 12.93 million viewers, scoring a 4.0 rating/11% share in the 18-49 demographic, ranking first in its timeslot. It was ABC's most watched pilot since the first episode of Ugly Betty. Plot 'Event Chronology' The Enchanted Forest flashbacks occur in various places of the overall timeline. The Land Without Magic events of this episode occur after "Firebird", and before the present-day events of "The Thing You Love Most". The scene where Emma accepts the room key at the inn takes place concurrently with the opening scene of "Selfless, Brave, and True". 'In the Character's Past' Prince Charming rides to the rescue of Snow White, who is comatose after eating a poisoned apple that was given to her by The Evil Queen. Doc informs Charming that he is too late, but Charming kisses Snow regardless, breaking the curse. On the wedding day of Snow White and Prince Charming, the Evil Queen arrives and delivers an ominous threat about a powerful curse she intends to release upon them. Some time later, a pregnant Snow White is worried about the curse and visits Rumplestiltskin, who issues a prophecy that the Queen's curse will take them all someplace terrible where there will be no happy endings. He also reveals that Snow White's unborn daughter, Emma Swan, will return when she is 28 years old to rescue them, thus beginning a crucial battle with the Queen. Following The Blue Fairy's advice, Geppetto and Pinocchio fashion a wardrobe from a magical tree which will allow one person to escape the Queen's curse. On the day Snow White gives birth to her daughter, the Queen's curse strikes. Prince Charming places their daughter in the magic wardrobe, but is mortally wounded battling the Queen's henchmen. The Queen stands triumphantly over Snow White and Prince Charming, as the Curse takes them "somewhere horrible." 'Storybrooke' In Present-day Boston, Emma Swan lives a lonely existence working as a bail bondsman and bounty hunter who was tracking down a man named Ryan. She is approached by a ten-year-old boy, Henry Mills, who identifies himself as her son, whom she had given up for adoption as a teenager. Not wanting a relationship with him, Emma agrees to drive him back to his home in Storybrooke, Maine. Along the way, Henry shows her a large book of fairy tales he has, insisting that all of the stories in it are real. When they arrive in Storybrooke, Henry informs her that everyone in town is in reality a fairy tale character, exiled by the curse and with no memory of their real identities. This includes his therapist Archie Hopper, who is really Jiminy Cricket, and his teacher Mary Margaret Blanchard, who is really Snow White. Henry claims that time is frozen in Storybrooke and the people are unable to leave, but that the curse will be broken by Emma. A skeptical Emma returns Henry to his adopted mother, the town Mayor, Regina, who is really The Evil Queen. Emma attempts to leave but after having drunk apple cider given to her by the Mayor and nearly hitting a wolf she has a car accident where she is knocked out. She is arrested and taken to Storybrooke Jail. When Henry runs away again, Emma makes a deal with the Mayor and Sheriff Graham: if they release her, she will find him. After exhausting all possibilities she speaks with Mary Margaret, who tells Emma to "Check his castle." After finding Henry at a wooden jungle gym (which bears a resemblance to Prince Charming's castle), they talk and Emma decides to stay in Storybrooke temporarily, especially after Regina warns her to leave town. This leads Emma to be suspicious of the mayor's motives. Shortly after her conversation with Emma, Mary Margaret Blanchard volunteers at Storybrooke Hospital, placing flowers at the bedside of patients. She stops in the ICU where a John Doe, Prince Charming, is sleeping in a coma. Mary Margaret is unaware of who he is. Meanwhile, at the Mayor's home, Regina takes the book from Henry's room and goes downstairs to look at her mirror, with an expression that seems to acknowledge she is aware of her fairy tale existence. As Emma arrives at Granny's Bed and Breakfast, she is given a key to her room by the elderly proprietor, who is actually Granny from Little Red Riding Hood. She comes downstairs after yelling at Ruby, her granddaughter, followed by a man who came to collect money: Mr. Gold, Rumpelstiltskin, who also helped build and owns the entire town. When Emma mentions her name, Mr. Gold pauses as if he knew something about her. Emma's decision to stay in Storybrooke causes the hands of the town clock, previously frozen at 8:15, to begin moving again. Cast Starring *Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White/Mary Margaret Blanchard *Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan *Lana Parrilla as The Evil Queen/Regina Mills *Josh Dallas as Prince Charming/David Nolan/Prince James *Eion Bailey as Pinocchio/August Booth *Jared S. Gilmore as Henry Mills *Raphael Sbarge as Jiminy Cricket/Archie Hopper *Jamie Dornan as The Huntsman/Sheriff Graham *Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold Guest Starring *Beverley Elliot as Granny *Meghan Ory as Red Riding Hood/Ruby *Lee Arenberg as Grumpy/Leroy *Keegan Connor Tracy as The Blue Fairy *Tony Amendola as Geppetto *Jakob Davies as Pinocchio *Gabe Khouth as Sneezy/Tom Clark *Faustino Di Bauda as Sleepy/Walter *David Paul Grove as Doc *Michael Coleman as Happy *Mig Macario as Bashful *Jeffrey Kasier as Dopey *Warren Christie as Ryan Trivia Production Notes= *This is the only episode to not include a title card. Instead, it features four slides that set the premise for the series. *This episode has the highest ratings of the entire series. *Some shots of the opening scene were filmed from a helicopter, even though Mark Mylod, the director, was afraid of flying. *As the kiss scene was being filmed, real snow began to fall. *The opening scene features the ending of the fairytale, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves", to show that there is more that goes on beyond the happy ending. *The wedding scene was filmed during the spring of 2011, with 200-plus fairy tale costumed extras. More costumed extras were added with visual effects. *Emma's introduction scene was written to subvert expectations and make her look like a woman who is looking for love, and then twist the story into what is to come, as Emma has a lot more going on. *The birds that Snow White and her Storybrooke counterpart set free were green birds that were CGIed blue in post production. These birds are actually lovebirds. *Snow White claims the Evil Queen poisoned an apple because she was "prettier than her". However, this is later revealed to be untrue, and it is not currently known why Snow White makes this claim. *While filming the scene where Emma and Henry are driving though Boston, the crew were on a tight schedule, and some of the shots were taken from moments where Jennifer Morrison and Jared S. Gilmore were being themselves and thinking they weren't actually filming. *It was Robert Carlyle's idea that Rumplestiltskin should drop down from the ceiling in his cell. *Mifflin Street, the address of Regina's house, is a shout-out to a street in Madison, Wisconsin, near the University of Wisconsin, which Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz both attended. *Caitlin French, the real life knitter who made Emma's baby blanket, taught Beverley Elliott how to knit for Granny's filming scene at the war council table. *One of the people in Henry's e-mail inbox is Damon, a reference to Damon Lindelof. Although his name is not on the show, he was one of the people involved in the conception of Once Upon a Time. *The first scene that was filmed for the show, was Mary Margaret teaching at school. *Prince Charming was originally supposed to die in this episode, but the writers decided that it would be really difficult to continue with the show without him, since they wanted Snow White to get her happy ending after all. *Originally, real exploding glass was going to be used for the scene where the curse transports the Evil Queen and *Snow White to Storybrooke, but the crew experienced a slight hitch during the shooting of this scene, and forgot to film it. *Mr. Gold regains his Enchanted Forest memories upon hearing Emma's name when he first meets her at the inn. *The hospital scene with John Doe was originally the idea for the ending of episode two, but the show creators wanted to give the audience a sense of hope that Snow White and Prince Charming would be reunited. *The Stranger and Selfless, Brave, and True establish that time starts moving in Storybrooke on October 23, 2011 which is he same day that the show premiered. As seen in "Selfless, Brave, and True"; this is proven when August's wooden state is triggered in Phuket at 8:15 A.M. on October 24 - the very same moment that Emma accepts the room key at 8:15 P.M. (the time zone in Phuket is 12 hours ahead of Maine's timezone). |-|Goofs= *During Emma's date with Ryan, her left wrist has a flower tattoo (briefly glimpsed in this episode, but more visible in other episodes). When she opens the door for Henry, the tattoo is gone. *When Emma and Henry arrive in Storybrooke, Steveston Village, which doubles as the town of Storybrooke on the show, has not been redressed for some of the shots. The following real-life Steveston business names appear on-screen: Pacific Net & Twine, Romania Country Bread Serenity, Nikaido and Splash. In addition, the prop sign on the building that doubles as Mr. Gold's pawnshop for exterior scenes has not been put up. However, in a different shot, the sign on Serenity is gone (but not replaced), and Nikaido has been transformed into Standard Clocks. In The Thing You Love Most, the local businesses have been redressed and transformed. Pacific Net & Twine has become Atlantic Twine & Net, Romania Country Bread has become Storybrooke Country Bread, Serenity has become Modern Fashions, and Splash has become Neighbors. *After meeting Archie, Emma opens the car door to get back in and drive Henry home. On the door screen, a camera man's reflection is noticeable. A reflection of a curtain on the car window is also visible. |-|Other Notes= ORIGINAL SCRIPT *Originally, Mr. Gold wasn't going to appear in the first episode, but the show creators included him in the episode after they fell in love with the character's counterpart, Rumplestiltskin. *Emma's first name was Anna. *Emma's arrival in Storybrooke took place after the Enchanted Forest council meeting. The scenes were later switched, with the arrival being shown first. *When the war council is debating how to stop the Evil Queen's curse, The Woodcutter and his two children, Hansel and Gretel, were supposed to walk in with the enchanted tree along with The Blue Fairy. *Sheriff Graham is an avid fan of eating pixie sticks. He also states he grew up in Maine, but picked up his accent from his parents. *Emma is convinced by Sheriff Graham to not drive out of town after drinking Regina's apple cider and heads straight to the inn and checks into a room. Instead of realizing she still has Henry's storybook while driving out of town as it occurred in the actual episode, she sees the book in her gym bag after setting it down in her guest room and begins to flip through it. *The Caterpillar makes a short cameo as Henry's computer screensaver. *The Dark Curse is not black smoke, but a green mist. *Mary Margaret is both a nun and a school teacher. FILMING LOCATIONS *The opening scene, featuring Josh Dallas as Prince Charming on horseback, was filmed at Alouette Lake in British Columbia's Golden Ears Provincial Park. *Waterfront Station in Vancouver (where production for Once Upon a Time is based) doubles as the bus station where Henry gets off the bus in Boston. *The interior scene at the restaurant in Boston was filmed at the Shore Club restaurant in Vancouver in March 2011, seven months before the Pilot aired. The "S" logo can be seen inside the elevator that Emma exits. The restaurant was closed down the following year. *Vancouver-based Gotham Steakhouse & Bar doubles as the restaurant for exterior shots, in the scene where Emma chases Ryan. *The scene where Emma drives through Boston, was filmed on Seymour Street, Vancouver, in late March 2011, whereas the scene where she arrives in Storybrooke, was filmed in March and early April 2011. The outdoor scenes in Storybrooke were filmed over 17 – 18 days. REAWAKENED: A ONCE UPON A TIME TALE *Ryan's surname is Marlow. He was also originally based in New York with his wife and three children but then fled to Boston after his embezzlement charges. *The castle is referred to as the "Royal Castle". *Emma recalls the last days before the childbirth and being "holed up in a dusty jail cell" with "not a soul to help her". *Emma recalls after she gave birth to Henry, she was only allowed to hold him for a moment ("a warm, soft, crying thing who'd looked up at her with cloudy eyes") before the nurse pulled him away from her.